State Briefs: 10/30/07

SPRINGFIELD - Though his career as an Illinois State Police Trooper was just beginning, Brian McMillen had accomplished much in his 24 years.

But what appeared to be a promising future in police work came to an end early Sunday, when McMillen’s squad car was involved in a deadly three-vehicle collision involving two alleged drunken drivers.

McMillen, a Pana native, enlisted in the Illinois Air National Guard in 2000 and rose to the rank of technical sergeant in the 183rd Fighter Wing. He served three separate deployments, including stints in Saudi Arabia and Italy.

In 2005, McMillen received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Illinois at Springfield, where he played basketball and was named to the dean’s list.

He married his wife, Angela, also a member of the 183rd, in July 2006. On Feb. 2, 2007, he graduated from state police training as president of his cadet class. McMillen was assigned to District 9, which includes Sangamon County, and began working the overnight shift.

McMillen was on his way to help Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies deal with a bar fight in Illiopolis about 2:50 a.m. Sunday when the three cars collided at Dye and Calvary Cemetery roads, just south of Interstate 72.

McMillen was pronounced dead at the scene, Sangamon County Coroner Susan Boone said.

The drivers of the other vehicles were Justin L. Taylor, 22, and Shaitan L. Cook, 28, both of Decatur.

Taylor was arrested for aggravated driving under the influence and improper lane usage. He remained jailed Sunday night on $1 million bond.

Cook, who was also arrested for aggravated DUI, was being treated at St. John’s Hospital Sunday. A hospital spokeswoman said no information was being released about his condition.

State Police Capt. James Wolf, commander of District 9, declined to release details about the circumstances of the crash during a news conference Sunday afternoon.

Driver rams factory

LINCOLN – A driver who police have not yet identified was injured at mid-morning Sunday when she rammed her car into the side of Eaton Electrical Group's Lincoln factory.

Before the collision, the woman was traveling at speeds in excess of 100 mph in residential areas on the city's north side, according to bystanders who overheard rescue personnel discussing the incident.

When she reached the T-intersection of a city street, the driver shot straight across a frontage road running parallel to Lincoln Parkway, then jumped a ditch between the two roads. She crossed the four lanes of traffic and the median on Lincoln Parkway, then entered the grass lawn of the Eaton factory. She continued driving more than 100 yards, barreling through an 8-foot chain-link fence before crashing into the side of the factory with enough force to buckle the hood of her 1993 Chevrolet Blazer.

Lincoln firefighters extricated her from her vehicle. She was injured, and fire officials said Monday she was sent to an area hospital.

There was slight damage to the factory.

Bystanders said when firefighters removed the driver from the vehicle, she appeared disoriented. They quoted her as stating, "I'm not a terrorist. I'm just trying to get back to the future."

School official faces solicitation charge

ASTORIA — The president of the Astoria Community Unit School District 1 School Board was arrested in Peoria Oct. 18 for allegedly soliciting sex from an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute.

Russell Prather, 52, of 2103 N County Highway 2 was arrested at the intersection of Northeast Jefferson and Spalding avenues and booked on a charge of soliciting a sex act.

Prather, who was elected in 2001 and 2005, declined to address the charge or how his arrest may affect his position on the board, which serves the K-12 school district with about 400 students from portions of Fulton and Schuyler counties.

“The superintendent is aware of it and the board is aware of it and until this proceeds to trial, it’s business as usual,” the Fulton County farmer said. “I really don’t care to discuss it any more.”

According to police reports, Prather was driving in the 600 block of Northeast Madison Avenue when his vehicle slowed to a stop. There, he asked the decoy prostitute if she had seen “Lori.” The officer, believing he was asking about another prostitute, told Prather that Lori was not in the area but that she was available.

After the two made a deal, Prather drove his car to an alleyway in the 500 block of Madison where officers with the department’s vice unit took him into custody and towed his car.

ISU hopes to build new fitness facility

NORMAL — Illinois State University’s board of trustees announced plans Friday for a $43.9 million student fitness and recreation center that will become the largest building on campus.

The board also approved a 13 percent salary increase for ISU President Al Bowman from $274,250 to $310,000, a $3 million upgrade to the baseball stadium, a $320 million campus budget for 2008 and a new renewable energy center.

The 170,000-square-foot Student Fitness and Kinesiology Recreation center will be near the center of campus between Main and University streets where Dunn, Barton and Walker residence halls stand.

The halls will be demolished to make way for the new center.

The center will include gymnasiums, racquetball courts, an indoor track, weight and exercise rooms, a pool, a climbing wall, as well as classrooms and laboratories. It also will be home for the 800 students enrolled in kinesiology and recreation programs.

Construction is set to begin in the summer of 2008, and the building is expected to open in 2010.

Peoria-based attorney to lead anti-gun initiative

PEORIA — After 23 years of taking on gangs, drugs and guns in the Peoria area, Tate Chambers has gone to Washington, D.C., to head up the national effort to reduce gun violence.

Chambers, an assistant U.S. attorney based in Peoria, was selected to head up Project Safe Neighborhoods, an initiative announced by President Bush six years ago that links local and federal law enforcement. He starts today.

'They could not have picked a better person,' said Chambers' boss, U.S. Attorney Rodger Heaton, based out of Springfield.

As the national coordinator, Chambers will be working with the 94 U.S. attorneys to set up national strategy on how to improve the program and also how to tailor it to fit each district's individual needs.

Final Peoria gun buyback Saturday

PEORIA — The Peoria Association of Pastors for Community and Spiritual Renewal will host the city's fourth and final no-questions-asked gun exchange for this year.

The buyback will be Saturday at the Higher Dimensions Praise and Worship Church, 2610 W. Nebraska Ave. Those who turn in an operable handgun will receive a $100 gift card or voucher to Peoria-area businesses. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or as long as the gift cards last.

Police ask participants to place the unloaded weapon in their vehicle's trunk before driving to the church, then park in the church lot but leave the gun in the trunk and find a volunteer and a police officer, who will remove the gun and secure it.

Businesses or individuals can contribute to the exchange by sending money to the New Bethel/Pastors Assn., P.O. Box 6167, Peoria, IL 61601. Checks should be made payable to the New Bethel/Pastors Assn.

Last-chance negotiations

ROCKFORD - Ryan International Airlines’ owners and pilots are sitting down at the negotiating table in what could be the last attempt to avert a strike at the charter service.

A weeklong session started today, according to a press release by the Air Line Pilots Association International. But frustrated after more than two years of negotiating, the pilots union is making plans in case of a strike that could come as early as December. The ALPA recently gave the local chapter $2 million so its members and their families could prepare for a strike, according to the press release.

Ryan flies U.S. military personnel, U.S. marshals, vacation groups and others. The pilots are asking for cost-of-living pay increases, better schedules and other work improvements.

Republicans split over state's attorney's race

ROCKFORD - Chuck Prorok, Winnebago County’s first deputy state’s attorney for the past three years, resigned his post Sunday to challenge appointed State’s Attorney Phil Nicolosi in the Feb. 5 Republican primary for the county‘s top prosecutorial job.

Prorok, 56, was to announce his candidacy today in the lobby of the Criminal Justice Center.

Prorok has worked in the state’s attorney’s office since he graduated from Chicago’s John Marshall Law School 29 years ago. He said his experience gives him an advantage over Nicolosi, a former Loves Park city attorney and private practice lawyer.

Prorok was a prosecutor, then civil division chief for 19 years, then first deputy for former state’s attorney Paul Logli.